Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Ms. OMAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in solidarity with labor unions that, throughout history, have fought the greed of their bosses and corporations in order to have a better life.

I rise in solidarity with workers in the Marathon Petroleum plant in Minnesota who are striking for safer working conditions and with the workers at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Walker Art Center, and many more workplaces that have recently unionized in my district.

I rise in solidarity with the 5,800 mostly Black workers in Alabama who are currently fighting one of the most predatory corporations in the world, Amazon, to form a union.

Labor unions have been the driving force for all positive change for workers in modern history. As a former union member myself, I can attest to the power that workers wield when they exercise their right to organize. That is why we need the PRO Act and why we must pass it this week and pressure the Senate to do the same.

The PRO Act puts power back where it belongs, in the hands of workers.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from National Nurses United. National Nurses United, Washington, DC, March 8, 2021.

Dear Representative, The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on H.R. 842, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act this week. On behalf of the 170,000 nurses represented by National Nurses United, the largest union of registered nurses in the United States, we strongly urge you to vote YES on the PRO Act, which would implement critical improvements to current labor law in order to protect the right for workers to organize collectively and form a union.

A union gives workers the ability to act together to advocate for safe working conditions, to improve their wages and benefits, and to protect their workplace rights through collective bargaining and concerted activity. For registered nurses, union advocacy and representation allow us to focus on what we do best: caring for our patients. Across the country, nurses have been subject to intimidation and retaliation from their employers because of their efforts to unionize. The PRO Act would provide critical protections for nurses who want to organize collectively.

The dire need for this legislation has been made all the more clear during this pandemic as nurses have been forced to struggle together for the most basic safety protections at their hospitals and clinics. The formation of a union in the hospital not only offers protections to nurses and other health care workers, but just as importantly, it leads to health and safety protections that improve patient care. For example, union organizing has led to improvements in infectious disease protocols, staffing levels, workplace violence prevention programs, and safe patient handling programs, all of which directly improve patient care.

Attacks on unions and the right to unionize have hurt efforts to protect patient care in the hospital, and to improve the lives of working families outside the hospital. While the latest Gallup poll shows support for unions at its highest point since 2003, with 65% of Americans approving of labor unions, these attacks on unions and the right to organize have continued unabated. The PRO Act would provide the legislative reform needed to protect American workers.

The PRO Act would have a direct impact on registered nurses and all other workers by making the following improvements to current labor law:

Prevent employers from interfering in union elections, including prohibiting employers from holding captive audience meetings;

Facilitate first contracts by requiring mediation and arbitration to settle disputes;

Strengthen support for workers who suffer retaliation and require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to immediately seek an injunction to reinstate employees while their cases are pending;

Prevent employers from forcing employees to waive their right to collective or class-action litigation;

Close loopholes in the federal labor law that allows employers to deny pay, benefits, or workers' rights to employees;

Put an end to the misclassification of employees as supervisors or independent contractors;

Enhance the right to support boycotts, strikes, and other acts of solidarity.

This legislation is of high priority for registered nurses across the country, and we hope you will join with us in supporting it by voting yes. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Lead Legislative Advocate. Sincerely, Bonnie Castillo, RN,

Executive Director, National Nurses United. Deborah Burger, RN,

President, National Nurses United. Zenei Cortez, RN,

President, National Nurses United. Jean Ross, RN,

President, National Nurses United.

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